Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 497

In the distant past, even the gods had no names. People only knew that the world contained certain powers, and they each believed in something different.

Among them, those who worshipped the moon prayed fervently for immortality. As a result, they were blessed with power under the moonlight, but turned into beings who could not live under the sun’s rays. freewēbnoveℓ.com

The gods granted power according to an individual’s belief. If one believed in a demon god, they would receive unholy power. Those who believed in the gods and sought immortality had been granted immortality. However, they had not foreseen the curse that came with it, the inability to survive the sun.

“There must have been those who welcomed such immortality, and those who did not. Some would have despaired at never being able to walk under the sun again, while others would have been grateful to live eternally under the moonlight.

“The family of Monday and all vampires that originated from there were creatures of the night. As time passed and immortality became tiresome, some of the Monday clan must have thought, ‘I want to walk under the sun once more.’ After all, to live only in darkness and grow weary of it is natural.

“They tried to overcome the sun. The family of Monday sought to receive even greater power from the moon, to have strength enough to conquer the sun.”

Luna paused, then continued, “Yet there were also others with different thoughts. Some sought forgiveness from the sun, wanting to stand under its light once more. Those vampires who worshipped the sun became the family of Sunday.

“Some received the sun’s forgiveness, and others, instead of seeking forgiveness, sought to become strong enough to withstand the sun’s light by themselves. After a long time, both clans learned to live under the sun, although it was still painful. Those were the first vampires who overcame the sun—the Vampire Lords.”

In the end, both branches overcame the sun, although their methods differed. Vampires were, in a way, sacred beings with origins in ancient faiths. They were peculiar beings, blessed by some gods yet cursed by others.

“But this, too, remains a half-measure,” Luna noted.

Most Vampire Lords could walk under the sun, but they felt immense pain, as I saw. They simply did not show it.

“Time flowed, and as eons passed, the true essence of vampires was forgotten, and new Vampire Lord lineages emerged,” she continued.

These were the families of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. The family of Monday was the first family, from which the family of Sunday emerged, and then fractured into the other Vampire Lord families.

I couldn’t tell just how ancient this time that Luna was speaking about was, but I knew it had to be an unimaginably long time ago.

“Among these new Vampire Lords, the oldest families, the families of Monday and Sunday, developed an inevitable desire.”

“An inevitable... desire?” I asked.

“Yes,” Luna replied. “They lived as immortals and enjoyed everything, but that life created a void they sought to fill. They wanted to be rid of the pain they suffered under the sun’s light, and they longed for life.”

Luna looked at me. “They wanted to become human again. To stand under the sun’s light and conceive new life. They wanted to reclaim what they had already lost.

“They promised the gods they would dedicate all of their remaining life to worship if they could live as living beings again. They longed for a return to humanity.”

A life of immortality inevitably stirred in them a longing for what immortality had taken away. Luna placed her hands on the sculptures of the moon and sun before her.

“The vampires of the families of Monday and Sunday prayed for a long time to become human again,” she said. “They prayed together to both the moon and sun, asking for mercy from the sun and forgiveness from the moon.

“They prayed for an immeasurable amount of time, so long that even the gods could not ignore them. They had been granted immortality, but in the end, like children throwing a tantrum, they cried to take it back.”

Luna’s eyes bore into mine. “The gods wanted to ignore them, but in the end, they could not. So I forgave them,” she declared.

I felt my mind freeze. That statement overturned all the assumptions I had started to form from Luna’s previous words. It wasn’t that they were forgiven; she had forgiven them.

“What... What are you saying?” I stammered.

Luna looked at me calmly. “The families of Sunday and Monday are made up of vampires who returned to humanity. They are the descendants of the original Sunday and Monday, and I am the clan’s leader and their guardian.”

She was not just one of them; she was the one who led them.

Luna Artorius looked at me, her hands still on the moon and sun.

“I am the will of the gods, sent to the world by the gods of the moon and sun, their messenger,” she said.

She was not the forgiven; she was the forgiver.

“I am the incarnation of the moon and sun,” Luna declared.

She was a being more transcendent than I had ever imagined.

***

The incarnation of the gods... That meant she was both the gods themselves and not.

“The family of Sunday and Monday together is the oldest religious group in the world. They are allowed to worship nothing but the moon and sun. I have lived as their protector and overseer for a long time.”

That explained Luna’s special status within the family of Sunday and Monday. It was impossible to fathom how long she had existed.

The family of Sunday and Monday was a religious group that had vowed to dedicate their lives to serving the gods in exchange for returning to humanity.

Their non-involvement in worldly affairs was a promise made to the gods, and this truth had been passed down through countless generations.

Luna was not just a member of the family of Sunday and Monday; she existed as their protector and overseer.

“Wait... then what about Father?” I asked.

“Ronan is human,” Luna replied.

At this point, I couldn’t tell if Luna was extraordinary or if Ronan was the more remarkable one for marrying the incarnation of the gods.

“Both I and the family of Sunday and Monday are bound by the roles assigned to us by the gods. Do you now understand why I cannot interfere in worldly matters?” Luna asked.

It was acceptable for Luna’s children to go out into the world, but not Luna herself. Luna, the family of Sunday and Monday, and the descendants of the family were all paying the price for their return to humanity. They were bearing another form of the gods’ curse.

“Well... it’s a bit awkward to say this, but you did try to kill me, Mother,” I pointed out.

“If I had succeeded, I would have been obliterated. I would have had to pay the price for doing something forbidden,” Luna explained.

Her attempt to kill me had been a gamble with her own existence. Having lost her son, and facing the loss of her daughter, Luna had risked her own existence in trying to kill me. However, since she had eventually forsaken that, she had been allowed to continue to exist.

“Anyway, that’s my story,” Luna said. “Someone who watched humans for too long became curious about what true human life was. In the end, they wanted to live it, and became human. It’s not a grand story, just a dull one.”

Having watched humans for so long, she had also become human.

I recalled Luna’s surprised yet joyful expression when I mentioned how much she resembled Ellen, not just in appearance but in personality.

Luna was a god but not a god—a peculiar being.

“That’s all there is to it. There’s nothing more to explain, and nothing more you need to know.”

“How did you meet Father?” I asked.

Luna narrowed her eyes at me. “I have no reason to explain such things to you,” she replied, as if warning me not to ask such silly questions.

It was time to head back out into the world. This long respite was over, and I had to face the matters that awaited me. What had happened outside? Had something irreversible occurred?

Luna approached me quietly, ready to send me back.

“Ragan was lively, and Ellen was calm, but both were obedient children,” she said, speaking of her children.

“I often thought about how fortunate I was that they weren’t as cheeky and arrogant as you, throwing tantrums all the time,” she added.

“Come to think of it, I think I was quite obedient,” I protested.

“Yes, how fortunate I was that they weren’t children who said such ridiculous things like you,” Luna said with a smile, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Still... I think having a son like you wouldn’t have been so bad,” she admitted.

“You’re still healthy, so why not have another?” I suggested.

“Enough!”

Smack!

“Ouch!”

I couldn’t avoid getting a flick on the forehead.

How many times had I been hit by Luna, the incarnation of the gods, and how many times had I been smacked on the back by her? Surely no one else had experienced what I had.

I had strange experiences aplenty In Rijaiera. Not because it was a village overseen by the incarnation of the gods, but because it was my first time living in such a naturalistic environment.

Luna sighed deeply as I earned yet another flick with a final remark.

“Close your eyes.”

It was truly time to go.

When she first came to me, she had told me to close my eyes, and when I did, I found myself in Rijaiera. Now, she was telling me to close my eyes again. When I opened them, I would not be in Rijaiera anymore.

“Mother,” I said.

“What is it?” she replied.

“Thank you,” I said.

“...”

My gratitude was sincere.

She seemed to think she hadn’t taught me anything, and I now understood why she hadn’t taught me anything directly. If I had joined the family of Sunday and Monday, I would have been bound by their rules. Therefore, she had not been able to give me anything more than vague hints.

If I had learned the secrets of the family of Sunday and Monday, it would have been a terrible disaster for me. She hadn’t taught me anything because she cared for me.

Luna remained silent for a long time after my words of gratitude.

“Reinhart,” she finally said.

“Yes?” I replied.

“May the blessing of the moon and sun be with you,” she said in farewell. It was similar to what Arta had said to me, but slightly different.

She didn’t tell me to open my eyes. The weight of her hand on my shoulder disappeared, and the air changed.

Whoosh!

“... Where am I?” I wondered.

I found myself back at the summit of a mountain, surrounded by the howling of fierce winds.

It was the same mountain top where I had met Luna a long while back. It was nighttime.

I felt a strange sense of dissonance. “What is this?”

It was winter, and on that windy mountaintop, I should have felt a biting cold that threatened to tear my skin from my bones. However, while the wind was fierce, it wasn’t unbearably cold.

Moreover, there was no snow piled up anywhere.

And most conclusively...

“What is this?”

Near the rocky ledge lay the gruesome sight of monsters that had been sliced apart. The trails of blood on the rocks showed that these monsters hadn’t been dead for long.

A memory from quite some time ago surfaced, one I hadn’t forgotten.

I had encountered many monsters while crossing the Sren Mountains in search of Rijaiera and had to fight them. I had fought monsters at this very spot and, exhausted, called out for Luna. She had come to me, and I had been allowed to enter Rijaiera.

This scene was exactly the one that I had been in just before being allowed to enter Rijaiera.

The monster corpses, still leaking fresh blood... There was only one conclusion I could draw from this.

Time had barely passed.

“Trust me.”

Now I understood what that truly meant.